Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Just Security provides expert legal and policy analysis of terrorism, counterterrorism, and domestic and international violent extremism.
2,224 Articles

Belhaj v. Straw: UK Supreme Court Hearing Case on UK Complicity in US Rendition and Torture
The United Kingdom Supreme Court heard arguments this week in two critical cases concerning the UK’s role in the United States’ rendition, detention, and interrogation efforts…

The insoluble Guantánamo problem (Part Three: Executive disregard of the GTMO-to-U.S. relocation prohibition is not a solution)
In my first two posts (here and here) I’ve described how intransigent (and unjustifiable) political opposition has made it virtually impossible for the President to relocate…

The insoluble Guantánamo problem (Part Two: The NDAA restrictions)
In my earlier post, I explained that the failure to close the detention facility at Guantánamo has been the one conspicuous and unfortunate exception to what has otherwise been…

The insoluble Guantánamo problem (Part One: The President’s successful transformation of U.S. detention practices . . . and the GTMO exception)
Charlie Savage’s Power Wars (see our ongoing symposium here) tells a very important, and mostly overlooked, story about President’s Obama’s policies and practices with respect…

Power Wars Symposium: Where Did Things Go Wrong? Three Key Moments That Shaped Obama’s Failed Guantánamo Policy
Editor’s Note: This is the latest entry in a symposium Just Security is hosting in conjunction with the recent release of Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency by…

The Assassination Ban and Targeted Killings
In public speeches, administration officials have criticized the use of the word “assassination” to characterize targeted killings carried out by the United States. The administration’s…

The International Criminal Court, the Islamic State, and Chemical Weapons
Ralf Trapp recently wrote here about an investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into the alleged use of chemical weapons in Northern Iraq…

Power Wars Symposium: Further on the law of the bin Laden operation, Part II
Editor’s Note: This is the third entry in a symposium Just Security is hosting in conjunction with this week’s release of Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency by…

Power Wars Symposium: Further on the law of the bin Laden operation, Part I
Editor’s Note: This is the second entry in a symposium Just Security is hosting in conjunction with this week’s release of Power Wars: Inside Obama’s Post-9/11 Presidency by…

Congress: Troops to Syria Means It’s Time (Finally) to Act
News that the United States has sent its first — albeit “fewer than 50” — troops to fight ISIS in Syria highlights once again the need for a new authorization to use military…

A False Choice on Guantánamo Closure
This post is the latest installment of our “Monday Reflections” feature, in which a different Just Security editor examines the big stories from the previous week or looks…

The Investigation Into the Islamic State and Chemical Weapons
Reports of the presumed use of chemical weapons — chlorine and more recently mustard gas — by Daesh (also know as the Islamic State) in Northern Iraq and Syria have appeared…